NEW ORLEANS (Feb. 2, 2024) –LSU Health School of Dentistry invited pre-K to fourth grade students from Esperanza Academy for Give Kids a Smile Day.

Faculty, students and residents from the dental and dental hygiene programs teamed up to create a special day for the nearby school. Students dressed as dental characters welcomed the students off their buses, as dentists and hygienists prepared for education, screenings and sealants.

“Today is our kickoff of Children's National Oral Health Month with the program Give Kids a Smile, where we have invited Esperanza Academy, a nearby elementary school, to participate in activities that promote oral health,” Dr. Sterling Roberts, local pediatric dentist and faculty member, said. “We’re teaching children appropriate oral hygiene habits, along with doing cursory dental examinations.”

This year’s theme, “Your Smile Is Out of This World,” gave the entire building a space-age motif complete with space suits, planets and rockets. Students received screenings, educational programming, arts, crafts, activities and oral hygiene instruction.

Second- and third-year dental students Harli Jacob and Ally Lutgring spearheaded this year’s effort, working with faculty, staff and residents to give every child a smile. Sponsors for this year’s event were the Academy of General Dentistry, ASDA’s New Orleans Chapter, Campus Federal Credit Union and The New Orleans Dental Association.

Interim Chair of Pediatric Dentistry Dr. Karen Bruggers, said, “Access to affordable dental care for children continues to be a need. Events like this one highlight LSUSD’s commitment to addressing the oral healthcare needs of children in our community.”

Give Kids a Smile Day launched nationally in 2003 as a way for dentists across the country to provide dental services to underserved children at no cost.

Photos, videos and audio interviews are available at this link.

LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans (LSU Health New Orleans) educates Louisiana's health care professionals. The state's health sciences university leader, LSU Health New Orleans includes a School of Medicine with campuses in Baton Rouge and Lafayette, the state's only School of Dentistry, Louisiana's only public School of Public Health, and Schools of Allied Health Professions, Nursing, and Graduate Studies. LSU Health New Orleans faculty take care of patients in public and private hospitals and clinics throughout the region. In the vanguard of biosciences research, the LSU Health New Orleans research enterprise generates jobs and enormous annual economic impact. LSU Health New Orleans faculty have made lifesaving discoveries and continue to work to prevent, advance treatment or cure disease.